100 Books Like The Complete Illustrated Guide to Tarot

I consider this book to be THE book for delving deep into the realm of symbolism and unveiling the hidden meaning behind visions, dreams, memories, myths, and art.

In this classic, Jung explores the more profound—not just pragmatic—aspects of the human psyche. Through Jung’s thought-provoking concepts, I gained significant insights into the unconscious mind. 

I’m a big proponent of the power of synchronicity, which I describe as the belief that higher powers are all around us if only we’re willing to let them in. Beitman’s groundbreaking book illuminates the science behind that serendipity. Along the way, he teaches readers how to attract opportunities that will enrich their lives by keeping their eyes and minds open and constantly curious.

 It might sound like magic, but it really is possible to manifest good fortune throughout our lives. It’s no coincidence that so many people who I give this book to are quick to benefit from some lucky break. And what do I tell them? Luck had nothing to do with it, my friend.

While designing and illustrating my own Sun and Moon Tarot, I followed the normal order of letters of the Hebrew alphabet and therefore also their values. And I respected the original Western Hermetic order of the cards on the paths of the Tree of Life and their corresponding Hebrew letters. This system is explained in detail in this book.

Rufus C. Camphausen describes in detail how the numbering of the tarot cards has been changed by different groups of people (Kabbalists, Astrologers, the Hermetic order of the Golden Dawn & Aleister Crowley, A. E. Waite of the Rider Waite Tarot). The same is true with the assignment of the planets and zodiac signs and the assignment of the numbers and the Hebrew letters on the paths of the Sefiroth (Tree of Life in Kabbalah).

Together with Van Leeuwen he also created ‘The Kabbalistic Tarot/Tree-of-life Tarot’. This tarot deck… show more.

As a poet, I love the Poet Tarot, for which Two Sylvias Press matched Major Arcana and Court Cards with deceased British and American poets. The Guidebook offers a mini history lesson about each poet’s strengths and weaknesses, including psychological wellbeing, journey to publication, and sources of inspiration. Each chapter ends with suggested actions: “Remember and honor the inspirational women in your life,” (Gwendolyn Brooks as the Queen of Muses / Cups) and prompts: “Is there a project I’ve been afraid to undertake—why?” (ee cummings as The Fool). Taken collectively, the prompts provide a roadmap for a rich self-reflective inventory and the chance to write new poems based on the themes of each poet’s work. I love to use the exercises in the poetry workshops I teach.

When this book was published in 1979, mythologist Joseph Campbell was not yet a media celebrity—just a noted scholar. But poets and artists had already begun to engage with his exploration of the “hero’s journey.” As a student of archetypal psychology, I was initially excited to discover that Campbell had written about the Tarot.

I say “initially” because I was soon put off by the fact that Campbell had placed the origin of Tarot around 1350—a hundred years too early. But since then, I’ve become enthusiastic about his commentary, which draws associations between Tarot and Dante Alighieri’s 1332 epic poem, the Divina Commedia. Although 1450 (the probable timeframe of the earliest Tarot) was a transitional space between the periods designated as the “Middle Ages” and “Renaissance,” my research and experience suggest that Tarot is most closely tied to a medieval worldview and best understood in that context.

The other… show more.

As a designer of systems, I find this book intriguing because the author has created his own rather idiosyncratic system of sorcery. (The emphasis being on “sorcery,” written from a practicing sorcerer’s point of view.)  In addition to outlining his theories on rules of magic and providing new perspectives on magical tools, Emerson provides a section of tarot spells with rhyming incantations, unusual layouts, and diverse aims, including concealing a secret, conjuring an omen, seeing from afar, sequestering beyond time, drawing wayward souls, brewing a tempest, and more.

The spell layouts also have fanciful titles like “The Knight’s Vigil,” “The Queen’s Mirror,” “The Prison of Shadows,” and “The Shroud of Unseeing.” One warning, though: this book is not for people who are easily offended by any hint of manipulative magic.

This is a Tarot how-to book with a difference: It organizes the cards by theme, making it way easier to understand and remember their meanings compared to the usual memorize-them-one-at-a-time approach. The book is really a Tarot course in 22 lessons (it’s no coincidence that there are 22 Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck!). Tarot 101 is an excellent resource for demystifying the Tarot and breaking it down into manageable chunks that make sense and that you can remember and use for the long term.

As the title suggests, this is not just a book but a Workbook. With knowledge and curiosity, Maria Minnis’s book is written from a place of great generosity of spirit. Still, it demands that we take action as we confront racism and inspire collective healing. 

We can sense her love of the cards and her view of them as a safe place to return to in times of need. As Maria takes us through the archetypes of the Major Arcana of the Tarot, exploring reality and metaphor from an unapologetically Black perspective, she gives us useful and practical exercises to help foster our own growth and understanding.  

The famed filmmaker and esotericist, Alejandro Jodorowsky, has poured decades of profound spiritual and divinatory understanding into this text to create one of the most significant systems for using the cards as a divinatory tool. Based on the Tarot d’Marseilles - arguably the stylistic form that constitutes the tarot’s most fundamental iconography - the text includes a comprehensive training system that can be used to provide a foundation for professional divinatory work.